Hi, i was going to throw out a twin size box spring a few days ago and decided to put some work into it and strip it down. From that wood i have made a "free" top bar hive. Just thought i'd tell this for anyone whose getting started, where theres a will theres a way. My real question is i want to paint the outside of my hive. I wanted to know what paint to use on it?
Great that you recycled the wood. Most folks use exterior latex, as Rat mentioned. You can also use a wood stain, or simple water-based polyurethane. Just be sure you let it dry and air out for a few days before putting any bees in it. And DON"T paint the inside where the bees will be- just paint the outside that is exposed to rain and weather.
Or, instead of Oops paint, go down to your local household hazardous waste center, they always have a few gallons of leftover paint people have dropped off to be disposed of... free is even better than cheap, right?
in your location it won't matter. Dark colors absorb more heat from sunlight. I have pretty fuschia, light blue, dark green, and tan hives right now.
Bees cannot see Red. They see it as black. The only thing I think might be bad about using it would be the heat factor. Red, or any dark color, will be hotter.